Would you like a large serve of lies with that?

A twelve-person jury reached its verdict on 18 August 1994. The jury found that McDonald's was 80% responsible for the injury and Mrs Liebeck was 20% at fault. The jury awarded Mrs Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages, which was reduced to $160,000 because of her share of the responsibility for the accident. It awarded a further $2.7 million in punitive damages to punish McDonald's for its "reckless, callous and wilful" disregard for the safety of its customers.

On appeal, the punitive damages award was reduced to $480,000.

After the trial, McDonald's Albuquerque reduced the temperature of its coffee to a temperature which was less likely to cause injury when spilt.

The case was not frivolous and attacked McDonald's corporate indifference to the safety of its customers.

Most recently there has been a parliamentary enquiry into Queensland's compulsory third-party insurance scheme, with RACQ Insurance and Suncorp calling for a reshaping of the Queensland scheme to a 'no fault' scheme, such as that which has recently been introduced into New South Wales. This scheme has led to a significant destruction of rights for injured motorists.

A change to a 'no fault' system such as that sought by RACQ Insurance would provide a windfall in profit for the insurers – this is in circumstances where RACQ's profits jumped from $26.7 million in 2017 to $64.4 million in 2018.

Despite this incredible profit, RACQ Insurance wants more and the fear mongering continues.

Queenslanders should be vigilant to protect their rights, remembering the lies that were propagated in 2002 and 2003 by the insurance industry – with the insurers, they never let the truth get in the way of a good story.